Hogwarts from another world

"I've really thought about many, many possibilities, Horace..."

Gellert Grindelwald gently waved the Elder Wand in his hand, then conjured a soft armchair, and then sat down in front of Horace Slughorn without any scruples.

Slughorn remained motionless the entire time, continuing to taste his delicious pineapple preserves.

The two of them didn't look like enemies at all, but rather like old friends reminiscing about the past.

Grindelwald continued: "I have doubted many people in Hogwarts... Whether it is Frius, Pomona or even Aurora, they all have reasons and possibilities to betray me... But only You, I never thought about the possibility of you betraying me..."

"Betrayal?" Horace Slughorn sneered, then he stood up, opened a new bottle of mead, and poured himself a glass.

He said calmly: "The last principal of Hogwarts that I worked for so far was Professor Armando Dippet... He died fifty years ago. Almost all evidence That murder was your fault, Grindelwald... I should have remained loyal to the chosen next Headmaster of Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore, before he was killed by you in Nurmengard Prison. I have been imprisoned for a full fifty years... If I choose to be loyal to you to the death, that would be betrayal!"

"So, from the first day I came to Hogwarts, you became a secret spy of the Order of the Phoenix?" Grindelwald asked curiously.

"Of course!" Slughorn nodded matter-of-factly, "From the time I learned about the death of Principal Armando Dippet, and when I saw Professor Yosef Shacklebolt die in front of your people. When I saw that any traces of Albus Dumbledore had been washed away... Horace Slughorn had already made up his mind!"

"It seems that your status in the Order of the Phoenix is ​​not low?" Grindelwald asked with some interest.

"There is no level of status within the Order of the Phoenix," Slughorn spread his hands, "There is only one upline I can contact. Don't worry, you won't be able to find that person... At the same time, I'm the only one on Minerva's line, so there's no need for you to waste your time interrogating her, as you won't be able to get anything out of it..."

"Of course I know..." Grindelwald nodded.

"Thank you!" Slughorn muttered, and drank the mead in his glass.

……

"Speaking of which, Horace, you've really caused me a lot of trouble over the years..."

Grindelwald conjured another goblet. Just as he was about to take Slughorn's bottle of mead and pour himself a glass, he was stopped by the Potions teacher...

"You drink this bottle!" Horace Slughorn threw the unfinished bottle of mead to Grindelwald, and then poured himself the bottle of mead that had just been opened later. A large glass was served.

"Okay!" Grindelwald's expression changed slightly, but he seemed to have no objection to this.

While pouring himself a glass of mead, he continued: "Looking back now, there are indeed many, many troubles. The black hand behind you, Horace..."

"It's like the informer fifteen years ago. Looking back now, you should be the one who did it, Horace... Remus Lupine came to tell me about the children's plan. When I ordered everyone When the teachers blocked any exit of Hogwarts (mainly the secret passages) to prevent anyone from leaving, I'm afraid you were the first to realize something was wrong and then alerted the children!"

"Of course!" Slughorn said with some pride:

"Honestly, I had almost no hope that they could escape Hogwarts... but they gave me a surprise. The invisibility cloak passed down by James Potter's family turned out to be true. It's a good thing...but I really can't figure out how so many of them can squeeze under a small invisibility cloak..."

"It is indeed a special invisibility cloak!" Grindelwald narrowed his eyes and commented.

"I'm afraid that invisibility cloak has fallen into your hands a long time ago, Grindelwald... since the last time you arrested James Potter..." Slughorn teased.

Grindelwald did not speak and acquiesced.

"Those young, newly developed members of the Order of the Phoenix are probably all from your club, Horace... To be honest, when Lily Evans openly stood up against me, I should have thought of it; young Their souls are all a blank piece of paper. If they become dirty, someone must have deliberately poured stains on them..."

"Of course!" Slughorn still did not deny:

"As you said, Grindelwald... young souls are a blank slate. With just a little guidance, they will move in the direction of justice; they are always full of vigor and never lack faith... Just have the right goal..."

His voice was once again full of pride: "Not only did you not find out, but they themselves didn't know either... If Lily Evans knew that she and I were both members of the Order of the Phoenix, I'm afraid she would also I’m surprised! I’m afraid in their eyes, they have always thought that Horace Slughorn was a greedy, fearful, slick, and evil old man!”

"It's commendable!" Gellert Grindelwald couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"If I don't do this, how can I deceive your eyes?" Slughorn also praised politely, "Especially the pair of eyes in your heart..."

"I can indeed see the future..." Grindelwald shook his head, "But I have never believed in it... The future is just a warning. If you use it as a guide, it is undoubtedly the behavior of a fool!"

The principal of Hogwarts paused, then continued to ask:

"Dirk Creswell, is he also a member of your Order of the Phoenix?"

Slughorn was stunned, and he fell silent for a moment.

"There is no need to blame yourself, Horace... don't think that you exposed him!" Grindelwald comforted, "A few hours ago, before I guessed your identity, the Aurors of the Ministry of Magic had already He arrested... As the director of the Goblin Liaison Office, a subsidiary department of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures and the Office of Strange Creatures, he committed suicide and secretly led the goblins' rebellion... When the goblins in Gringotts calmed down, he His identity was unsurprisingly exposed..."

Slughorn asked in a low voice: "Dirk...he...what will happen to him?"

"Azkaban... life imprisonment... without parole!" Gellert Grindelwald said without thinking:

"Not just him, but all the participants in this rebellion have this ending...whether it is Dirk Cresway, Porter, or Elaine Shafik..."

……

The two of them were silent for a moment, drinking mead in silence.

"The number of wizards is very small!" Grindelwald suddenly said, "Every wizard is precious... I am never willing to deprive any wizard of his life, no matter what they have done... In my eyes, They are undoubtedly like relatives and children who have done something wrong..."

"Then you are going to send your relatives and children to Azkaban to be with the dementors?" Slughorn couldn't help but sarcastically said.

"But you can stop this, Horace!" Grindelwald's expression suddenly became serious.

He bluntly stated the true purpose of his trip.

"Tell me... tell me what you have done in the past year, what are you hiding?" Grindelwald asked softly.

"You know, that's impossible, Grindelwald..." Slughorn's voice was decisive.

"Of course I know... Any memory related to the matter has probably been modified by you a long time ago; your Occlumency is also very good... As for Veritaserum, for a potions expert like you , it will not make any sense..."

Slughorn said nothing.

"As long as you say it, I can forgive you for everything..." Grindelwald continued, "Whether it is Dirk Cresway, Elaine Shafik...or you, Minerva and Bo All three of them can regain their freedom...I can forgive you for what you did...I promise you, I think my words still have some credibility..."

"...Horace...please..."

Horace Slughorn shook his head expressionlessly:

"That's impossible!"

……

So he was categorically rejected.

Grindelwald was not angry, but calmly poured himself another glass of mead.

"Honestly, I've gotten used to it over the years..." he said calmly, "You people in the Order of the Phoenix, at least those I've come into contact with, are just like Albus Dumbley, incredibly stubborn... ...Obviously everything I did was only for the benefit of the wizard..."

"...Wizards, we are the most powerful creatures in this world... The blooming of magic can only exist in very few souls like us... So we should control this world, deserve higher equality, and deserve More noble..."

"Stop your sweet words, Grindelwald!" Horace Slughorn sneered, "Don't think that your words can fool everyone..."

"...The interests of wizards do not need you to represent...Before you were born, before you came to England, wizards had always lived a carefree life..." Slughorn said loudly, his The voice was slightly excited:

"...The blooming of magic has brought us a lot...We don't need to run around for life like Muggles, we only need to use magic to enjoy our lives...It's like drinking mead, What a wonderful and happy life it is to eat pineapple preserves..."

"...We don't need to enslave Muggles, they will not have any impact on our wonderful and happy life...the same goes for centaurs and house elves..."

"...The one who really ruined everything in this peaceful world is actually you, Grindelwald!" Slughorn continued to roar:

"...It was you who brought the war to us, and it was you who destroyed everything we were peaceful and cherished..."

"Those are just sacrifices," Gellert Grindelwald responded calmly. "In order to achieve greater benefits, we need some small sacrifices... This is natural!"

"Greater interests..." Slughorn sneered, "This is just your excuse... The so-called greater interests only exist in your fantasy..."

"Maybe so!" Grindelwald did not deny this:

"Greater interests are indeed my ideal; I have been striving for this throughout my life..."

"For the greater good... I have sacrificed a lot... I have been fighting for it since 1897, nearly a hundred years ago... Because of it, I lost everything... I and my best friends Turning against each other, I watched my loyal subordinates die in front of me...and of course, my years and my life..."

"So, Horace..." Gellert Grindelwald shrugged:

"Actually, I can't go back... I sacrificed everything for the greater good; if I ever turn back, it means denying my life... Don't think that this can dispel my belief. …”

"I think Albus Dumbledore's assessment of you is correct, Grindelwald!" Slughorn said suddenly.

"Oh?" Gellert Grindelwald relaxed his brows with some interest.

"He said, you are a madman!"

"Indeed..." Someone in Grindelwald nodded unexpectedly, and he said with a smile:

"It's not just me, it's him too... Sometimes, we both go crazy!"

……

Both bottles of mead are almost empty.

The conversation between Gellert Grindelwald and Horace Slughorn also came to an end.

After a moment of silence... Slughorn suddenly lay down on the chair, his eyes slowly closing, as if falling asleep.

He looked at the colleague in front of him who had worked with him for nearly fifty years, and then glanced at the bottle of mead in his hand...

Grindelwald sighed and shook his head with regret.

"Farewell, Horace!"

He poured the last bit of mead from his bottle onto the floor in front of him.

Then, he turned and left, walking out of the Potions teacher's office.

Vice-President Professor Vita Rozier was waiting for Slughorn in front of his office.

"How's it going, Lord Grindelwald?" She asked quickly as she watched Grindelwald walk out.

Grindelwald sighed again.

Then, he shook his head again and said in a low voice:

“Professor Horace Eugene Flachus Slughorn, the Head of Slytherin House and the Potions teacher at Hogwarts…just now, accidentally took poison and passed away. !”